When people
see a heart shape, they typically think of love, especially on Valentine’s Day.
However, for Amber Pulley’s fifth-grade
class, the heart not only symbolized love but life. With the help of the
University of Utah’s women’s basketball team, the American Heart Association
and some service projects, her class learned more about real hearts—and on the perfect,
heart-filled day, February 14.

To start the
day, half of the class came in early to surprise their first-grade buddies with
paper hearts (Heart Attacking) taped all over their computer labs and office
doors. They left notes expressing their gratitude for the staff at Highland Park
Elementary and their little buddies.

“They
enjoyed making the hearts with specific notes of appreciation to our
secretarial staff,” Pulley said. “They loved sneaking around the hallway before
school to do an act of service.”

“Coming to
school early and heart attacking was so fun,” Kaas Bloxham, one of Pulley’s
students, said, “It was fun to see their reaction and see how excited the front
office got after reading our cards.”

After
spreading love around the school, the students got to learn more about their
actual hearts. Sarah Roundy with the American Heart Association talked with the
students about how to keep their hearts healthy with good food and learning how
to make those healthy choices daily.

“The
students read nutrition labels and learned how to take their heart rate,”
Pulley said.

According to
the American Heart Association, when students learn good habits—exercising portion
control, eating a balanced, healthy diet, and being aware of food labels—they
perform better in school and on top of that they have better attendance and
behave better.

After
learning heart-healthy habits, it was time to learn what that food turns into:
energy. The University of Utah’s women’s basketball team ran basketball drills with
dribbling and shooting with them outside on the playground and taught them
about good cardio for their hearts. Later the group went back inside to ask the
team some questions about their health and the importance of education.

“The players
love the opportunity to come and work out with the kids and show them some
basketball skills,” Pulley said.

Pulley said
that the players explained to the students how keeping up good grades is a big
part of being on a team. Athletes in college and high school all needs to keep
up their GPAs to maintain their positions on the team.

“The kids
were so excited when we got there and they were so energetic and excited to
participate, which made it a lot of fun,” Malia Nawahine, a shooting guard for
the U women’s basketball team, said.

“It was fun
do to some easy things and hard things on the court,” Dylan Johnson, another
student of Pulley’s, said. “It was fun to have them work with us.”

After students
learned to take care of their physical hearts it was time for them to grow
their hearts by doing acts of service. After they spread their love around the
school, they did so at home. The students spent their last hours at school
typing up thoughtful Valentine letters to their parents, expressing their love
and finally exchanging their own Valentines to their classmates.

“I’ve always
like the idea of teaching the importance of the heart and all the way to make
your heart healthy,” Pulley said, “and to include service opportunities,
nutrition and exercise in the curriculum.”